The heroine is on the hunt for the daughter of a best friend after she's kidnapped and sold into vampire sex slavery. Her search leads her to the one man she ever loved as he's skills can help her find the girl. The heroine and the hero had a hot and steamy love after a year ago but when the heroine freaked out and panicked over her growing feelings, she fled. She's always regretted that decision so when she meets the hero again, they waste no time in rekindling their love affair. The hero has loved the heroine for so long but he allowed her her space and when she left, he didn't chase her. But now that he's got her back he refuses to let her go again. He struggles throughout the book with his protective nature that wants the heroine safe and out of the danger her job puts her in. It's his way to shut down and become distant when he's troubled or when he's worried. It takes some time for the heroine to finally admit that she loved him and when he becomes cold and distant, it puts a strain on her fragile trust. Overall I enjoyed this book. I wasn't over the moon in love with it though as I felt it was just a tad boring at times. First the book was about the heroine finding her friends daughter. Then in was about rouge vampires trying to kill them. Then it focused on the fact that the hero is employed killing said vampires and dealing with the grief of having to kill his brother when all that time, the government was still making vampires. Then it went back to finding the daughter and working at the sex club she's held in. It was a lot and I never really felt any of these story lines were followed through. It was disjointed and flip flop between plot lines. I did love the two characters together and the sexy hero with his kind heart but tortured soul. ( )

I received this book as a member of Librarything.com's Early Reviewers Group. I enjoyed Awakened:The Belladona Agency Series paranormal novel by Virna DePaul. It is the first book in this series that I have read and I didn't have any problems following the storyline. I liked the female lead Barret Miles and the lead male Nick Maltese. Barrett is just learning that vampires are real and Belladona agents work to stop vampires who live to kill humans. She is teamed up with Nick Maltese who she used to date and is keeping important secrets from her. They have to learn to trust each other and work together. I would have enjoyed the storyline more if it was faster paced. I will probably reader more of this authors books. ( )

I'm a voracious reader and have devoured numerous titles that deal with paranormal romances. I did not read the first title in the series and that did cause a little head-scratching when it came to references but it was enough of a stand-alone to get by. It's not the first time I've read something that linked supernatural/normal characters with the government so that wasn't "new" to me. The characters? Meh! I've read better but I did enjoy the story line and hope the author works through some of her temerity when it comes to her people. It was good enough for me to order the first title and to continue reading future novels. Thank you Library Thing Early Reviewers! ( )

I'm a fan of paranormal romances and I've read quite a few. I did read the first book,Turned, of The Belladonna Agency Series, and then read Awakened. I'm liking the series so far. I've never read a series where vampires are working with the government and I find it interesting.

Fun, but a bit of a disappointment after enjoying the first book, Turned. The tension between the two main characters feels forced as if it is only there to fit the book into the traditional romance formula. I'd like see the author take more risks with the rest of the books in this series. ( )